


Once or Twice

by Ian_the_Existential_Crisis



Category: Apex Legends (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Reincarnation, Soulmates, mirage is a smart cookie, mostly angst, moves into canon divergence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-09
Updated: 2020-05-09
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:00:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24083983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ian_the_Existential_Crisis/pseuds/Ian_the_Existential_Crisis
Summary: The last time they were together she remembered holding him by the fireside. But that was a lifetime ago.Or, Wattson joins the Apex Games so her soulmate will find her again.
Relationships: Crypto | Park Tae Joon/Wattson | Natalie Paquette, Side of Bangalore | Anita Williams/Mirage | Elliott Witt
Comments: 2
Kudos: 35





	Once or Twice

**Author's Note:**

> I made this for @zombieflowers on tumblr who needed more of the SparksFly pairing. Unfortunately my brain at 4 am doesn't know what fluff is. It's okay, my brain at 6 pm also doesn't know.

Natalie covered herself with a thin sweater. Winter time in the mountains was cold, and with only the dimming light from the dying fire place to keep her warm, she had little choice but to move around for more wood. She refused to let their dwindling light burn out. It would be much harder to restart the fire in the dead of night. 

Her husband, Tae, had come down with a nasty cold. He worked in the town just beyond the thicket, as a record keeper of sorts. The town had little in the ways of work for them. But they were outsiders. Fleeing from their families to be together again. Out of anyone Natalie thought her father would understand, he was perhaps the greatest researcher for the soulmate bonds. But his rivalry with the park family kept him from seeing what was right in front of his face. 

Tae-joon and Natalie were soulmates. She could vaguely remember spending a lifetime with him before, his name had been Hyeon back then, which she always found it strange she could remember his past name but not her own. In the past he had been three years older than her and their families had not approved then either. But the times had changed greatly since then. Electricity, albeit still new, was invented and working its way around the world. Unfortunately for them, it had yet to fully make its way to their sleepy little mountain town. 

She stoked the fire, placing more wood on top to burn, barely able to revive it. The warmth did little to relieve the tingling of her frozen fingers. So she swiftly made her way back to their bed. 

She climbed in, kicking her slippers sloppily to the floor. "Tae?" She whispered, brushing the dark hair from his face. 

"Nat." He coughed into the quilt they shared. "I don't…"

"Shhh." She forced him to stop. She knew he was only thinking the worst. They always had the worst luck. They lived short lives together. They were packed with love and affection but they never lasted long. The first time Natalie knew she had gone first, she hadn't known the pain, the emptiness that her soulmate felt until the first time Tae-joon died before her. She felt as if there were no reason to keep going. The life, color,even the meaning had left the world the moment he drew his last breath. 

So she already knew what he was thinking when he tried to speak. He was thinking that once again their time was up. 

"Tae, please. Don't give up on me yet. Maybe we can break this curse and actually live long and happy lives this time around." She cooed at him. The very little but of flesh that stayed above the quilt burned her hand. It brought her more warmth than the fire she had rekindled. 

"I love you." He whispered into the fabric. It was so quiet she barely heard it. But it was still there. He had said it because he thought it would be the last time he was able. 

She wouldn't allow herself to cry. Crying meant that she agreed with him. Crying would mean that she would be saying goodbye. But she refused. In the morning she would drag him into town. They would make it to the doctor, who would tell them that he would be fine and they would continue on, living at the edge of this quiet little town. They would live long, happy lives this time. 

A tear escaped from the corner of her bright blue eye. "I'm not ready to say goodbye."

"Nat." He coughed out again. "It's not goodbye. It's never so final. We always find each other. We'll find each other again."

"That's so negative." She whispered into his drenched hair. 

"My star." He choked. "I love you. Time will never change that." 

She snuggled in close to him, feeling every shutter, every gasp for air. She wanted to feel all of it before it was gone again. She hated to be the last one left. He called her his star, but she felt like she didn't shine as bright when he left her. What was a star compared to the moon?

…

Wattson felt everything as she entered the dropship. Anger, excitement, fear. She could feel her pulse vibrate her body. She made this place. She built a home for herself that screamed she was there. This was her place, and with it she should shine bright enough that he would be forced to find her again. 

Before they had no troubles, it was like they had always been born near where the other was, but this time she could feel it. Or rather, she couldn't feel it. She didn't know who they would come back as. A woman, a man, or perhaps someone like bloodhound. She didn't care. She just wanted her soulmate back. And she couldn't feel them yet.

It had been Mirage, of all people, to figure her out. Right before the fourth year of the Apex Games. She knew she was moping around, but she didn't think she would be obvious enough for even someone like him to find out. 

"I've known for a while." He sat next to her on the couch once they were alone in the common area. "You're looking for someone."

"Am I?" She played dumb. "You were here, you all were, after my father's funeral. Who else could I be looking for?"

"That's what I was wondering. But I know you are looking. Why would someone who helped create these games join them if not to be seen? This place is flashy, being here in the flesh is like the icing on the cake."

He caught her. He had no proof, but he still easily figured him out. She thought him to be an idiot, but apparently he was just goof at playing the fool. 

"Who are you looking for?"

"Nobody." 

"Just tell me. I can help."

"You can't help."

"So there is someone."

"Why are you here Mirage?" She shot back at him. He just kept firing at her, these questions were like bullets biting into her soul. "I've seen your interview. For the women, for the money. Why are you really here?"

"I didn't lie." He stated promptly. 

"I never sai-" 

"I found her. But she's still looking for someone. She's a fighter and I love her for it. So I'll stay here, by her side forever." He sighed. "Even if she and I come different worlds, every word she says, every fact she drops is a blessing to my ears."

"Oh, I didn't think…" She said. "You and Anita… I never would have guessed."

"You kinda just did."

"Well, now looking at how you act with everyone else, it's obvious. You and Bangalore don't talk much when around a group, I thought you just didn't like each other."

"So we put on a little act. It's better that way." He laughed. 

"I bet it was her idea. I would get mad at my soulmate if he continuously pretended to be an idiot even though he's very observant and smart." Wattson gave a small huff. 

Mirage didn't bother correcting her. He merely gave her a pat on the head as he stood. "You'll find them."

… 

She felt it. It was a strange feeling of relief washing over her as she woke up. She could feel her soulmate near. Did they see the news about the repulser blowing up and the legends having to move to a new world? Were they part of the staff? She didn't know. All those questions filled her head the moment she opened her eyes to the world. 

As it turned out, the newest member of the legends family was a young man named Crypto. He boarded the ship that morning.

She could feel it. She could see the resemblance between him and her past lifetime. When he introduced himself, briefly, in the common area, she wanted to run up to him. To hug him and never let him go again. But he said nothing. His gaze went right through her. 

"Hyeon." She called to him one night, seeing him in the hall with Octane. 

"Gotta go amigo." The speed junkie left them. 

"Nat." 

"Why are you avoiding me?" It took all her courage to say. 

"I'm not." He said cooly.

"You are. Are you not my Hyeon? Am I wrong about this feeling?"

He glanced at her, clearly uncomfortable. "I am… we are…"

"Then why?" She asked, her tears threatened to fall. 

He opened his arms to her, which she gladly ran into. "I was afraid you'd be mad. We've killed each other so many times, I've watched you die, you've watched me die."

"That's nothing new."

"It's different when I'm killing you." 

She looked up at him with glistening blue eyes. "It is. This time we come back, we have more time. I don't feel numb anymore when you die because I know I'll see you again on the dropship."

"I know."

"I created this place for you. I knew you would find me here so I joined the games and waited two years for you."

He gave a soft laugh, kissing her forehead. "It's been a lifetime I've made you wait."

"But you're home now." Natalie smiled. "We're both home now."

"I do have a confession." He said softly brushing her blonde hair out of his way. In this lifetime they were both on the shorter side, she didn't have to stand on her tippy toes for him to kiss her. That would be nice. "I kinda blew up your home."

Natalie merely shook her head at him. Her Hyeon, she didn't care if it was his real name or not, he looked like he did back when his name was Hyeon so many lifetimes ago. "I made this place so you could find me again. I knew that here was where I could shine my brightest. It served its purpose. Besides, to finally have you back in my arms again, it's worth losing this place. It will always be worth it. You are my home. As long as we are together I don't care where we are."

Hyeon…. Crypto looked at her with his deep chocolate eyes. "I'm sorry I made you wait so long." 

"Take as long as you need. As long as you find me."

"Are you telling me to meet you in our next lifetime too?"

"Maybe once or twice I won't mind." She grinned at him. The warmth of his arms surrounded her. She was right where she belonged. 

"I wouldn't really mind meeting you again."


End file.
